what do you suggest for me to learn on guitar?

[slash112]

i need a good song to learn on the guitar, i wouldnt say that im a beginner, because ive been playing guitar for about 3 to 4 years, but im no better than a beginner because ive just been teaching myself. ive been told im good, but i know thay were just saying that. im looking for a rock song, be it classic or metal or whatever, but i dont want a really hard solo (if that is possible), the only part of solos i have ever been able to do are the tapping bits. i also dont have any equipment like distortion or all that effects stuff, so im looking for a song that doesnt need that, i like to practise without an amp aswell, so bear that in mind. anyone got any ideas?

[Man of Shred]

well one of the first classic rock solo's i learned was hotel california. It's pretty easy. the intro chord picking is great to learn as well.

[slash112]

well one of the first classic rock solo's i learned was hotel california. It's pretty easy. the intro chord picking is great to learn as well. oh ye of course, ive been meaning to learn that, but i keep forgeting, ill check that out tomorrow.

[Sandform]

I wish I could play the guitar, but I suck at it. It wouldn't be so bad except for the fact that when I have to hold more than two strings with the same finger and one of the strings is the third string, I always end up with a dead note.

[slash112]

ye i hate bar chords aswell, i cant do all 6 strings and i dont think 5 either, but ye i know what you mean, i tend to stick with single strings so normal chords.

[eppy]

I like the acoustic version of Everlong by the Foo Fighters. It's pretty easy. I also taught myself and have been messing around for 4 years, but I am pretty bad and can never learn a whole song.

[slash112]

I like the acoustic version of Everlong by the Foo Fighters. It's pretty easy. I also taught myself and have been messing around for 4 years, but I am pretty bad and can never learn a whole song. i dont really like that song, its too plain, but i dont really like the foo fighters anyway. and im the same, i cant really learn a whole song, i can learn the most of a song, but then its always the solos that i cant do, which is why im looking for a song without a hard solo. or also, if its possible, someone to teach me how to do that kind of stuff would be great, but i dont think ill ever learn, it seems impossible.

[Bayside]

Paranoid by Black Sabbath is a good one. It's a short song, with an impressive sounding solo that's actually pretty easy to pick up on, Iommi's phrasing is really good, so you kind of get a feel for it, and can improv it if you feel it's easier that way. Or Iron Man, that's really nice and simple, solo is a bit tricky, but I just improv my way through it, I never bothered to learn the whole thing properly.

[CoLd BlooDed]

Wow, 4 years of being self taught and you still can't finish an entire song...? That's more than long enough to learn at least three or four - what's the deal? I just reached my 4 year point of being self-taught and that's, well... not good. You should have more dedication to the instrument, regardless of whether you're teaching yourself or not.

[Sandform]

Wow, 4 years of being self taught and you still can't finish an entire song...? That's more than long enough to learn at least three or four - what's the deal? I just reached my 4 year point of being self-taught and that's, well... not good. You should have more dedication to the instrument, regardless of whether you're teaching yourself or not. It is hard to find songs that can be played fully on the guitar...At least for me. And the ones I do find are so simply and sound lame so I wouldn't want to learn them anyway.

[Mes Tarrant]

"Yesterday" by the Beatles is really easy.. and it sounds just like the actual recording... (I know what you mean, Sandform). "Dust in the Wind" is really beautiful, I think.

[CoLd BlooDed]

Hahahaha, that's such a bad excuse Sandform. There's so many songs out there that are gorgeous and simple as hell. Hallelujah, by Jeff Buckley for example. Or Let it Be. Making excuses is rookie mistake number one. Yesterday isn't that easy to play... once you get the million chord changes and melody down you're all good but it's still fairly tough.

[Mes Tarrant]

No way.. it's the first song I learned! But maybe it was easy because of the video tutorial thing I used. I'll go see if I can still find it. It's on youtube, and the guy has a website with the chords as well.

[Sandform]

Hahahaha, that's such a bad excuse Sandform. There's so many songs out there that are gorgeous and simple as hell. Hallelujah, by Jeff Buckley for example. Or Let it Be. Making excuses is rookie mistake number one. I wasn't making excuses...I was just saying that is the reason why I haven't learned any songs yet, well, I learned most of to zanarkand but that was a while ago and I have forgotten most of it. I still want to learn re: your brains by johnathon coulton, or however you spell it, but I have trouble finding tabs for stuff, those major sites always give me crap...they tell me "do these chords" when I don't know wtf they are saying lol.

[CoLd BlooDed]

No way.. it's the first song I learned! But maybe it was easy because of the video tutorial thing I used. I'll go see if I can still find it. It's on youtube, and the guy has a website with the chords as well. Well you're just crazy then. Great song to play. And Sandform I guess it also depends on what music you listen to, but still... a full song is a full song. If it sounds lame and simple, shitty - that's about as much a description of a good FULL beginner song as I can think of.

[Unelias]

I think my first songs were ( when I still played guitar actively)Hendrix's Purple Haze, the classic bluessong Hideaway and Santana's Europa. Not the easiest but I did it because they sparked me and kept me motivated I don't play guitar anymore that much though :/

[Mes Tarrant]

It sucks that your callouses go away every time you take a prolonged break from guitar. God dammit..

[dylanshmai]

I have been playing guitar for 5 years now. and for two of those years I played almost excessively and could play the hours in a day away. I have had a lot of musical training and talks with other musicians durring my time, and its funny the things we end up agreeing on. first rule of thumb I think would be: The more songs you know how to play, the more it detracts from tapping into you're creativity. The more you write songs, and are willing to open up and explore new areas of learning, the more you will strive to be better. Listen to the music that inspires you the most, and you will end up gravitating towards that sound automatically, it may take many years and you may not know how to play a single song of the band you like, but you end up gravitating to the music you like most, but still end up retaining what feels to be a completely different sound. Learn to play guitar to a tempo, drums, CD, or something with a groove, and you will get a grasp of what good timing is (no walk in the park here). If you record music and stack layers of tracks, it will completely change you're world and perspective on music and give you an upper hand to really playing guitar. I have made hundreds of songs, and my music writing and playing has gone up to a level I never thought could be possible. If you learn how to play the guitar well, you will be able to pick up other instruments much faster too, because that kind of musical knowledge is very helpful. in short: learn you minor and major scales like the back of you're hand and mix up you're timing and work to the caliber that jazz guitarists are playing.

[slash112]

ok, by the way, i wasnt really doing much for my first couple of years, then i got a bit more into it, but now im so determined, so im going to try really hard. and by the way, the people who can get the hang of it easy are born with it, im not born with it, i just want to play enough to satisfy myself. and the only songs ive ever wanted to play have amazing solos which are soooooo fast and hard, and incedibly long, the shortest song ive tryed to learn is about 6 to 7 minutes, i can usually get to about 5 minutes, then cant do the solo so i skip it and finish the rest(e.g. stairway to heaven by led zeplin, one by metallica, unforgiven 3 by metallica, the list goes on). any song which i would be able to play fully are boring and plain, like that song talked about earlier, the foo fighters song, thats boring, but i bet i could do it if i had the patience.

[slash112]

I have been playing guitar for 5 years now. and for two of those years I played almost excessively and could play the hours in a day away. I have had a lot of musical training and talks with other musicians durring my time, and its funny the things we end up agreeing on. first rule of thumb I think would be: The more songs you know how to play, the more it detracts from tapping into you're creativity. The more you write songs, and are willing to open up and explore new areas of learning, the more you will strive to be better. Listen to the music that inspires you the most, and you will end up gravitating towards that sound automatically, it may take many years and you may not know how to play a single song of the band you like, but you end up gravitating to the music you like most, but still end up retaining what feels to be a completely different sound. Learn to play guitar to a tempo, drums, CD, or something with a groove, and you will get a grasp of what good timing is (no walk in the park here). If you record music and stack layers of tracks, it will completely change you're world and perspective on music and give you an upper hand to really playing guitar. I have made hundreds of songs, and my music writing and playing has gone up to a level I never thought could be possible. If you learn how to play the guitar well, you will be able to pick up other instruments much faster too, because that kind of musical knowledge is very helpful. in short: learn you minor and major scales like the back of you're hand and mix up you're timing and work to the caliber that jazz guitarists are playing. i have learnt some scales before, becaise i really wanted to learn to make my own blues licks or something, but i couldnt do it so i gave up trying to make my own music. i sometimes think about giving up, because i get so upset when i cant play something i love, as in, i pretty much say to myself, ive given up, but then i listen to some music and i suppose it inspires me to carry on, but this cycle happens like every week practicly. timing is not my problem, and i could probebly play the notes for a song from a tab for a fast solo, then speed it up all the time untill i can play it full speed, but it still wont sound right, it sounds like the wrong notes, even though im playing it right, so i really ave no idea what my problem is. maybe i should start listening to a different type of music so that i want to play the easy songs.

[Man of Shred]

yeah sandform don't make excuses. it takes time to develop finger strength and callouses. i never started playing well. and when i get bored of learning rock guitar i transcribe some classical pieces. here is an example of a transcription i've done.

[Adrenaline Junkie]

7 years playing and though i'm not against playing songs, i don't personally do it. It can be fun to learn but many people learn these songs just to simply show off and it drives me nuts when i see somebody play something thats incredibly easy and without any good technique applied. Though i'd agree there can be some benefits to learning songs, on the whole it can be a waste of time when instead you should try to focus on technique using exercises. Instead of learning to play rock songs, why not focus on your technique, i noticed you said you hated barre chords, well why not work with it to try and improve your technique in that area. Barre chords are very simple and theres so much more you can do with them, i think that chord inversions can be much simpler when barred for example. There is so much more you can do than learn just songs and solos, sure they can be good in some respect, but if you focus on the core techniques instead you can really improve your playing dramatically in a short space of time.

[slash112]

7 years playing and though i'm not against playing songs, i don't personally do it. It can be fun to learn but many people learn these songs just to simply show off and it drives me nuts when i see somebody play something thats incredibly easy and without any good technique applied. Though i'd agree there can be some benefits to learning songs, on the whole it can be a waste of time when instead you should try to focus on technique using exercises. Instead of learning to play rock songs, why not focus on your technique, i noticed you said you hated barre chords, well why not work with it to try and improve your technique in that area. Barre chords are very simple and theres so much more you can do with them, i think that chord inversions can be much simpler when barred for example. There is so much more you can do than learn just songs and solos, sure they can be good in some respect, but if you focus on the core techniques instead you can really improve your playing dramatically in a short space of time. ill try doing that, but in the music i like, barre chords arent used too much, so i wont need to go too far into it, ill practise other things, but thank you for the advise, it should really help. and ranma that was awsome, and i noticed you used pinch harmonics, i love that, cant do it though.

[ray]

i was going to suggest iron man but idk if you want to try the solo in it.

[slash112]

i was going to suggest iron man but idk if you want to try the solo in it. yea i used to be able to do the main riffs in iron man, but got bored coz i couldnt do the whole thing, i.e. the solo, it rocks but its very fast, i didnt even try it, i know its hard.